Softball windscreen buyer's guide
Softball fields buy the same material as baseball in shorter runs, which usually means two or three panels per outfield and a single-day install. The variable is the fence itself: many fastpitch fields sit on lighter chain link than the varsity diamond next door, and a four-plex shares its fences between fields.
Key takeaways
- Recommended blockage for softball: 89% open mesh on the outfield, 80% or 85% where the fence flexes by hand.
- Standard panel to start from: 6 ft × 50 ft, two or three per outfield, ordered post to post.
- On a four-plex the fence you screen is also the next field's outfield. Keep one color across the complex.
- Store panels dry and folded, not wadded. Wet storage is what kills polypropylene.
01 Who buys it here
The facility or grounds team installs and the athletic director approves. At the club and travel level, a board member or a team parent often buys the panels outright with sponsor logos printed on, one 50 ft section per sponsor so a sponsor change is one panel. Parks departments buy for complexes on a season schedule and want one spec across every field.
02 Sizes that fit this venue
Order to the fence height you measured. Screens are finished 4 in shorter than the fence so the panel sits inside the top and bottom rails, and lengths run in 50 ft sections.
| Fence | Panel | Series | Blockage | Typical use | Price | Configure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft | 6 ft × 50 ft | 600 Series - Commercial Open | 89% | outfield run | $289.50 $5.79/ft | Configure |
| 6 ft | 6 ft × 100 ft | 600 Series - Commercial Open | 89% | full outfield in one piece | $579.00 $5.79/ft | Configure |
| 4 ft | 4 ft × 50 ft | 300 Series - MAXFlex PVC Mesh | 80% | dugout and bullpen fence | $249.50 $4.99/ft | Configure |
| 6 ft | 6 ft × 50 ft | 750 Series - Commercial Block | 95% | bullpen privacy | $294.50 $5.89/ft | Configure |
03 Blockage for softball
Open complexes and shared fences between fields where airflow comes first.
Clean backdrop for hitters with the airflow a short fence needs. The pick for most softball complexes.
Dugouts, bullpens and sponsor panels where you want a solid wall of color on a short run.
89% on the outfield fence, 80% or 85% if the complex sits on an exposed ridge or a lakefront or the fence flexes when you push it. Dugout and bullpen fences can go to 95% because they are short runs on braced fence. Sponsor panels print on the higher-blockage screens, where the weave does not break up the graphic.
04 The series that apply
The two or three screens that fit this venue, priced per foot on a 6 ft fence.
05 Install and season timing
One 6 ft × 50 ft panel is a two-person, 25-minute job with UV-rated ties through every grommet. Plan two or three panels per outfield and a day for a four-plex. Measure post to post before ordering, since fields are rarely built to the drawing. Fence toppers protect the panels and the players from a bare top rail.
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Measure post to post
Order to the run, not to the field diagram.
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Tie every grommet, triple the corners
Corners carry the load on a short panel.
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Store dry
Fold, do not wad; a wet pile is what ends a screen, not sunlight.
06 Budget worksheet
A planning number for the whole program, priced on 600 Series - Commercial Open before finishing options and shipping.
Questions we get about softball
Ready to price your run?
The softball page has the sizes above with the configurator pre-filled, or start from the recommended screen.